Lyrics Born's newest studio album, As U Were on Decon, arrived at Amoeba Music on Tuesday (Oct 26) and within three days shot to number one on this week's hip-hop chart for the San Francisco store. With a diverse and accessible sound that ranges from old school disco beats ("Coulda Woulda Shoulda") & old school electro (think Bambaataa) to post-hyphy Bay rap ("Black Bots"), alternative grooves and more, the album features guest spots from Lyrics Born's long time Solesides/Quannum rhyme buddies The Gift of Gab from Blackalicious and Lateef (who joins him on both "I Wanna B W/U" & "Pushed Aside / Pulled Apart"). Other contributors include Sam Sparro, Trackademics, and Francis and the Lights. The low points on the 15 track As U Were CD are the three unnecessary & not-funny skits, while the high points include the sharp critical commentary on prescription drugs, "Pillz (feat. The Gift of Gab)" and the mad raw & fast breakbeat driven "Oh, Baby!" To coincide with the new album, Lyrics Born's Auto Reverse tour is currently underway along with fellow Decon artists Rakaa and Chali 2na. There is one week left of the tour that stops in Victor, ID tonight at Knotty Pine and finishes next Friday (11/05) at Dante's in Portland, OR. Meanwhile, to peep pics of Lyrics Born doing an instore at Amoeba San Francisco back in '03 click here.

Two weekends ago theFat Beats retail store in New York City closed shop for good and today the Fat Beats store in LA will follow suit. And while the shuttering of this longtime SoCal meeting ground for hip-hop fans and artists is most definitely a sad day, the good folks at Fat Beats are going out on a high celebratory note rather than a just a downer tearful farewell. Today's final day for the LA Fat Beats on Melrose is the culmination of a week and a half long series of music industry panels and energized instore performances that included Ras Kass, Dilated Peoples, Evidence (solo, as in video above from Friday), Bishop Lamont, Kurupt, Mellow Man Ace, and 2Mex (as seen in video below from last weekend), with a day long DJ showcase featuring J Rocc, Rhettmatic, DJ Revolution, and other turntable manipulators throughout today.

Don't miss it if you are the LA area! Allow time to get in, as the relatively small space will quickly get crowded. Two weekends ago at the September 4th closing of Fat Beats on Sixth Ave in Greenwich Village, NY, it was so crazy that myself and another two or three hundred fans, who arrived late in the afternoon, got stuck outside listening to the music blaring out the windows of the second floor store. Like the closing of the NYC Fat Beats, the closing of the LA store is more than simply some retail space closing down. It is the loss of an important community common ground, a local hip-hop institution that lovers of the genre gravitated towards and where, it seemed, there was always some must-see instore performance.

Not to bite Whitmore's previous blogs about The Los Angeles Dodgers, but I wanted to write about the start of the baseball season, Last Sunday I went to check out the Dodgers and as I walked up the stairs to my seat, I couldn't help but take a picture of one of my all-time favorites.

Fernando Valenzuela was the pride of Mexico. The biggest reason why the Dodgers are Los Doyers now has everything to do with him. Mexicanos who had no previous interest in baseball, suddenly filled the stadium every time he pitched. In a city so enamored by The Lakers, Fernandomania swept through Los Angeles. He should be in the Baseball Hall Of Fame. He was the only person to win the Cy Young Award and The Rookie Of The Year in the same year (1981) and helped The Dodgers win the World Series over the the dreaded New York Yankees, In 1990, he pitched a no-hitter. The Dodgers ended his career prematurely by overusing him, mostly to get more people through the turnstiles. Still, to see him in his heyday was something else.

I feel the same pride with Alejandro Ocana, otherwise known as 2Mex. He, along with Xololanxinco, formed OfMexican Descent, who were the first Chicano rappers that I heard that went beyond what other Chicano Rappers had done previously. Before them it was all Gangster Rap or the numerous Cypress Hill knock-offs. 2Mex lyrics have content, cultural pride and he can freestyle with the best of them. He has numerous collaborations, solo projects and releases. On top of that he is also a part of the Visionaries crew. Check out his insane discography